Finding 561719 (2024-001)

Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster – Federal Direct Student Loans Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Entity: Not applicable Assistance Listing Number: 84.268 Federal Award Year: August 31, 2024 Criterion: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Secretary of the Department of Education (Secretary), institutions must update all information included in the report and return the report to the Secretary: (i) in the manner and format prescribed by the Secretary; and (ii) within the timeframe prescribed by the Secretary. Unless the institution expects to submit its next updated enrollment report to the Secretary within the next 60 days, an institution must notify the Secretary within 30 days after the date the institution discovers that: (i) a loan under Title IV of the Act was made to or on behalf of a student who was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the institution, and the student has ceased to be enrolled on at least a halftime basis or failed to enroll on at least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended or (ii) a student who is enrolled at the institution and who received a loan under Title IV of the Act has changed his or her permanent address. Condition and Context: Exceptions were noted for 21 out of the 25 students tested. The exceptions are noted as follows:  For 18 students, their status was reported late to National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at the campus and/or program level.  For 15 students, incorrect statuses were reported to NSLDS at the campus and/or program level. The correct status was never reported.  For 2 students, no reporting was submitted to NSLDS at the campus or program level. Our sample was not statistically valid. Cause: The University uses the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to transmit enrollment information to NSLDS. The University transmitted enrollment information for the students identified in the first and second comments above to NSC, however the information was not in the proper format and, therefore, the status changes could not be properly recognized at NSLDS. The 2 students referred to above in the third comment were not reported due to an oversight in the Registrar’s office. The University’s process did not include a review of information reported back from NSLDS to identify the errors. Effect: The accuracy of the Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by schools. If an institution does not review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, effective dates of the enrollment status, and the anticipated completion dates, then the Title IV student loan records will be inaccurate. Recommendation: The University should implement a process and related control to ensure accurate and timely reporting to NSLDS as well as working with NSC to proper formatting of reports. Management Response: Management agrees with the finding. The Director of Financial Aid and the Registrar will implement procedures and controls in fiscal 2025 to ensure accurate and timely updating of the enrollment reports to NSLDS.